Administration of Justice at the United Nations

A/RES/78/248View PDF

Who created this mandate?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 144Administration of justice at the United Nations, published in 2023.

What other versions does this mandate have?

23 versions · 2004–2025

This is an older version — the most recent is A/RES/80/238

2025A/RES/80/238Administration of justice at the United NationsLatestCompare with previous version
2024A/RES/79/254Administration of justice at the United NationsCompare with previous version
2023A/RES/78/248Administration of justice at the United NationsCompare with previous version
2023A/RES/77/260Administration of justice at the United NationsCompare with previous version
2022A/RES/76/242Administration of justice at the United NationsCompare with previous version

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Who cites this mandate in the budget?

2 entities

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What subjects does this mandate have?

5 topics

Administration of Justice Grievance Procedures Labour Disputes Legal Remedies Legal Services

What does this mandate say?

17 operative paragraphs

Takes note of the report of the Secretary-General on administration of justice at the United Nations and on the activities of the Office of the United Nations Ombudsman and Mediation Services, the report of the Internal Justice Council on administration of justice at the United Nations and the related report of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions;

Endorses the conclusions and recommendations contained in the report of the Advisory Committee;

ISystem of administration of justice

Emphasizes the importance of the principle of judicial independence in the system of administration of justice;

Stresses the importance of ensuring access for all staff members to the system of administration of justice, regardless of their duty station;

Acknowledges the evolving nature of the system of administration of justice and the need to carefully monitor its implementation to ensure that it remains within the parameters set out by the General Assembly;

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Reaffirms its decision, contained in paragraph 4 of its resolution 61/261, to establish a new, independent, transparent, professionalized, adequately resourced and decentralized system of administration of justice consistent with the relevant rules of international law and the principles of the rule of law and due process to ensure respect for the rights and obligations of staff members and the accountability of managers and staff members alike;

Commends the Secretary-General for ensuring the availability of outreach documents in all six official languages, requests the Secretary-General to intensify his efforts to implement multilingualism within the system of administration of justice, and also requests the Secretary-General to report on his efforts to continue to promote multilingualism in the system of administration of justice in the context of his future reports;

Recalls paragraph 6 of the report of the Advisory Committee, and further requests the Secretary-General to provide a comprehensive assessment of the functioning of the system of administration of justice in his next report;

IIInformal system

Recognizes that the informal system of administration of justice is an efficient and effective option both for staff who seek redress of grievances and for the participation of managers;

Reaffirms that the informal resolution of conflict is a crucial element of the system of administration of justice, emphasizes that all possible use should be made of the informal system in order to avoid unnecessary litigation, without prejudice to the basic right of staff members to access the formal system, and encourages recourse to the informal resolution of disputes;

Decides to regularize the pilot project for access of non-staff personnel to the services of the Office of the United Nations Ombudsman and Mediation Services, within existing resources;

IIIFormal system

Recognizes the ongoing positive contribution of the Office of Staff Legal Assistance to the system of administration of justice;

Recalls paragraph 7 of its resolution 63/253, and reaffirms that interns, type II gratis personnel and volunteers (other than United Nations Volunteers) shall have the possibility of requesting an appropriate management evaluation but shall not have access to the United Nations Dispute Tribunal or to the United Nations Appeals Tribunal;

Decides to approve the following amendment to the statute of the United Nations Dispute Tribunal:

Article 9, new paragraph 4:

In hearing an application to appeal an administrative decision imposing a disciplinary measure, the Dispute Tribunal shall pass judgment on the application by conducting a judicial review. In conducting a judicial review, the Dispute Tribunal shall consider the record assembled by the Secretary-General and may admit other evidence to make an assessment on whether the facts on which the disciplinary measure was based have been established by evidence; whether the established facts legally amount to misconduct; whether the applicant’s due process rights were observed; and whether the disciplinary measure imposed was proportionate to the offence.

IVOther issues

Invites the Sixth Committee to consider the legal aspects of the report to be submitted by the Secretary-General, without prejudice to the role of the Fifth Committee as the Main Committee entrusted with responsibilities for administrative and budgetary matters;

Recalls paragraph 44 of its resolution 73/276 and paragraph 35 of its resolution 77/260, stresses that the system of administration of justice must work in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations and the legal and regulatory framework approved by the General Assembly, and reaffirms that the Dispute Tribunal and the Appeals Tribunal shall exercise their powers according to their respective statutes.

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